1. Technical Field
This invention relates to serving utensils, and more particularly, to an adjustable food serving utensil for use with solid and liquid foods.
2. Prior Art
In the preparation and serving of appetizers, main entrees and desserts, the food products used in the recipes for these dishes are removed from their original packaging. For instance, various condiments, dressings, sauces and other liquids, as well as granular or powder substances (e.g. sugar, flour, salt, etc.) are removed from their original packaging and placed into bowls, dishes, pans, etc. in the process of preparation and serving of various recipe dishes.
One prior art example shows a utensil for scooping, scraping, measuring, pouring and serving that includes a main body having a generally flat bottom and side walls extending up from the bottom to a top edge in surrounding relation to an interior reservoir. The top edge is preferably tapered in thickness to provide a scraping blade which generally conforms to and seals against the surface of a bowl, dish, pan or the like to thoroughly scrape and remove a substance therefrom. A pour spout formed with a non-drip lip extends from one of the side walls, along the top edge, and allows the scooped substance to be easily poured into a storage container without spilling the substance. A handle extends from the main body and, in a preferred embodiment, is offset towards the pour spout side to reduce the likelihood of contact of the user's fingers with the substance when the top edge opposite of the spout is used to scrape and scoop the substance. Unfortunately, this prior art example does not provide a means for draining fluids from food stuffs contained within the serving section of the spoon.
Another prior art example shows a combination-material food utensil constructed of materials having different relative hardness. The skeleton or backbone of the utensil is constructed of a hard material providing structural integrity and allowing the utensil to easily slide along the bottom of a dish such as bowl or a plate and remove and serve the contents therein. Unfortunately, this prior art example does not include a means to conveniently switch between scooping solid and liquid foods and draining the fluids from foodstuffs contained therein.
Accordingly, a need remains for an adjustable food serving utensil in order to overcome the above-noted shortcomings. The present invention satisfies such a need by providing an apparatus that is simple and easy to use, is lightweight yet durable in design, and allows a user to effectively drain fluid from food contained within a food retaining section of the utensil by moving a switch conveniently located in the handle of the utensil. Alternatively, a user may use the utensil in a manner that retains fluid in the retaining section, or scoop dry food respectively. Such a utensil allows a user to quickly and efficiently switch between modes of operation simply by moving a switch conveniently located in the handle of the utensil. The present invention effectively does the work of two utensils, thus advantageously saving a user time and space.